The present invention relates to packing devices for loading articles into a carton for handling and distribution and more particularly to a packing device particularly devised for packing square containers or round articles having fragile labels applied thereto.
In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the marketing of bottles containing beverages utilizing a square container for the individual bottles as gift items during seasonal holidays, celebrations and during other notable occurrences wherein decorative square containers may be utilized to enhance the occasions. These square containers, or the individual bottles, are placed in a carton adapted to contain anywhere from 4 to 12, or more containers. The individual containers themselves are artistically decorated and generally are endowed with delicate or fragile wrappings, labels, ribbons and/or lettering indicative of the occasion or season involved.
The carton into which the individual containers are placed are supplied with corrugated dividers arranged so as to form square spaces for the reception of the individual containers. Because of the delicate nature of the containers, bottling personnel must be assigned to place the containers in the cartons manually so as not to destroy or injure the decorations, etc. attended to each of the containers. Perhaps the main cause for any damage or injury occurring would be the result of the containers engaging and rubbing against the upper edges of the dividers as the individual containers are slid into the spaces defined by the dividers. It will be apparent then that packing such square containers in cartons manually is rather time-consuming, and certainly, from a cost standpoint, the use of personnel to manually load the cartons is prohibitive. In more recent years, as previously stated, the use of such containers for complimentary bottles has grown significantly, thus, taxing the personnel requirements needed by the bottling industry. The results of these manual requirements and time consumption has directly affected the marketing price for the bottles.
The present invention has been devised in order to obviate the problems and disadvantages enumerated above. An arrangement has been devised for automatically placing the square container carrying bottles along a plurality of paths until a proper number of containers have been selected for the size of the carton to be utilized. The proper number of containers are then directed into a frame structure and held momentarily therein before permitting the movement of the containers into the carton in precise paths so that the dividers placed in the carton do not come in contact with the labels or the square containers. The frame structure is constructed with suitable guiding elements in designated positions to engage each of the containers as they are moved therein to reposition the same without damage thereto or to labels applied thereto for the proper entry into the areas designated by the dividers in the carton.
Therefore, it is the principal object of the present invention to load cartons with a plurality of delicate bottled containers without damage to the containers.
Another object of the present invention is to arrange a packing device wherein delicately decorated bottles or containers therefor may be automatically positioned within a carton without interfering with decorative material arranged on the bottles, or the individual containers therefor.